


here it comes

by rideahorse



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: An underpaid security guard, Bad Decisions, Bucket List, Christening a car, Freckles, IHOP, Improper treatment of thrift store clothing, Lance is a Bad Influence, Lance is a Pretty Princess(TM), M/M, Prom, Public Nudity, Rated T for language and softcore sexytimes, Sexual tension-ridden games of 20 questions, Skinny Dipping, Tattoos, Teen Angst, Tongue Piercings, aka Lance's Fuck-it List, my chemical romance - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-12 04:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9055315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rideahorse/pseuds/rideahorse
Summary: Keith watched a lonely droplet of water fall from Lance’s soaked bangs, curving a path over the bridge of his nose and then pooling—almost teasingly so—at the bow of his lips.“I feel like I won, for some reason,” Lance said quietly.





	

**Author's Note:**

> it started off crack and ended up some weird mix of humorous fluff and soft porn that i like to call florn
> 
> also what's pacing haha (completely unrelated side note: don't write while drunk kiddos)

As someone who had grown up knee-deep in a perpetual state of teen angst, Keith never really understood the concept of prom.Prom, which he assumed must’ve been short for promenade, was an excuse for the social hierarchies of high school to make themselves evident among bad music and poorly decorated cafeteria tables. 

 

This didn’t stop him from going.Keith’s foster mom was a major supporter of all things high-school, which she deemed the glory days, and his foster dad had already splurged on a thrift store suit before he could get a word in on the matter. 

 

He didn’t have a date or anything (not many boys were into boys in suburbia), but with a quick word from Shiro, everything was set.He was going.

 

Prom itself wasn’t a surprise—neither a let-down nor something pleasant.The music was bad, the dresses were sparkly, and the punch was spiked (probably, but he hadn’t had any to know).The couples were raunchy, from what he could see in the strobes, which made Keith feel uncomfortable in a number of ways, leading him to simply take a seat at one of the abandoned tables to the side of the dance floor instead of dancing along to music he didn’t know the words to.

 

Lance plopped down next to him sometime quickly after the king and queen announcements, looking a sweaty and disheveled mess.Keith regarded him silently.Two glances were enough to tell him he was cranky, and Keith didn’t really want to mess with a fight.

 

Lance lifted a cup of punch to his mouth, sipping, and then made a face.(Yes, Keith concluded, the punch was spiked.)

 

“What the fuck, honestly?”

 

“I’d look at Rolo, he’s got like three flasks in his jacket,” Keith mumbled, resting his chin on his palm.

 

“Hm?”Lance blinked, and shook his head.“No, I mean—like, what the _fuck_?This is—this is prom?”

 

“Yes?”

 

Lance ran a hand through his hair, scowling down at some spot on the floor.The expression gave Keith pause; Lance was—or well, Keith had always _figured_ he was—a party animal.Anything with bad pop music, anything with dancing, anything with hidden alcohol and bodies grinding close to each other—Keith figured Lance would be in love with prom.

 

“This is—“Lance chewed his lip.His eyes followed a pair of girls as they giggled and raced onto the dance floor for a ceremonious playing of the macarena.“This is a _major_ let-down.”

 

“Yeah,” Keith agreed.“That’s what prom _is_.An over-hyped let-down.Everyone knows that.”

 

“Well, I didn’t.And that’s stupid—I know, I don’t need you to tell me that—but I just thought—“In a grand gesture of apparently not knowing what to say, Lance threw his hands into the air.“I don’t know!Four years of high school, and prom is like the culmination of everything that it’s supposed to be!”

 

Existential crises were kind of Keith’s thing, but dealing with another person’s was definitely _not_.He simply stared, waiting for Lance to catch his breath, close his eyes, sigh.

 

“You know—“Lance opened his eyes, downing the rest of the cup of punch and turning to face Keith.“I think I just wasted the past four years of my life.”

 

Keith averted his eyes, shrugging.“Me too, I guess.High school’s not for everyone.”

 

“Okay, My Chemical Romance, but I actually _tried_ to enjoy it.”

 

“You think I didn’t?”

 

“You tell me.”

 

It was silent for a moment, during which Keith considered his mistakes, his regrets, and a whole lot of other things that were far too much for half-past ten on a Friday night. 

 

“I just—I don’t know, I kind of assumed the future past high school is better,” Keith said at last.

 

Lance hummed.“I hadn’t thought that far ahead.Live in the moment, go with the flow—you know how I am.”

 

Another slow song came on, this time a solo for the king and queen.Keith watched fondly as Shiro took the center of the dance floor, extending a hesitant hand towards Allura.The two of them, both friends of theirs, were a picture of wholesome enjoyment throughout everything that high school involved; it didn’t surprise Keith that they were selected as king and queen.

 

“Can we get out of here?”

 

Keith glanced over at Lance.“And go where?”

 

“I don’t know.Anywhere.”

 

He thought about it.He and Lance had never particularly gotten along well, seeing as Lance’s happy-go-lucky kind of contrasted with Keith’s ever-serious-pessimism, but they _were_ friends.(Kind of.)And friends support friends, help friends to feel better, all that kind of stuff.Hunk and Pidge were closer with Lance, too, but they weren’t here.Keith may as well have been all Lance had in that moment.

 

He took a breath.“Yeah, sure, we can go.This whole thing is kind of depressing.”

 

Lance beamed.“Great.I’ll get Shiro after this—“

 

“No.”Keith bit his lip, glancing back out at the dance floor.Shiro was laughing at something, extending his arm to lead Allura in a twirl.His eyes followed her, alight with something Keith wish he had.“Let them have their night.”

 

Lance relented, a knowing gaze following the two of them as they danced.He stood, shoving his hands into his suit pockets, and glanced back at Keith. 

 

“And let us have ours.”

 

~~~~~

 

They wound up at an IHOP at a bit past eleven, for lack of anything better to do.Granted, there wasn’t much in a small town to do to begin with, but Lance still seemed to hide his disappointment between a double stack of New York cheesecake pancakes and three glasses of chocolate milk.

 

Keith raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of him, watching Lance somehow cram another half of a pancake down his throat. 

 

“Do you always eat this much?”

 

Lance shrugged, grabbing his knife to cut away at the next pancake.“I’m a growing boy, Gyeong.Why do you think I’m so tall and you’re so short?”He pointed his knife over at Keith’s barely-touched mini stack.“Because I eat.”

 

Keith frowned.“I’m not short,” he grumbled, and then picked up his fork.

 

Lance snorted.“Whatever you say, my dear pocket-sized friend.”

 

The waiter came by to refill Lance’s cup of milk, exhaustion written plainly across his face.Keith almost felt bad for the guy—working a late night at a pancake place, being forced to serve two of the only three people in the restaurant, and having to go on constant chocolate milk runs for a boy who really looked like he didn’t need anymore.

 

“ _Gracias_ ,” Lance said perkily, beating Keith to it.

 

He leaned in close across the table as the waiter left, pulling out his phone.“I got an idea.”

 

Keith rested his chin on his palm. “Is this going to be as bad as I think it could be?”

 

“Depends on how you view me.”

 

“Well, I think you’re—“Keith swallowed, eyes glancing over the eager expression on Lance’s face.He thought Lance was a lot of things, that’s for sure.Excitable.Passionate.Annoying.A little bit _exciting_.A lotta bit tempting. He made Keith think about some of his four year’s regrets. “Reckless.”

 

Lance hummed, waving his phone in his hand.At this point, they probably looked stupid, leaning across the table like this, but Keith could better see Lance’s freckles and the half-crazed, half-excited look in his eyes, so he didn’t particularly mind.

 

“If we’ve both wasted our high school career, and this is all everything turned out to be, then—well, why not just do it?We can wipe out everything we wanted to do in one night.No regrets.”

 

Keith glanced down at Lance’s phone, where a small list seemed to be typed out, and Lance moved it slightly away so that Keith couldn’t read.“Like a bucket list?”

 

“I guess so.A poor man’s bucket list.Stuff that we had the past four years to do and just, didn’t.I already have the list planned out.Whaddya say?”

 

Keith chewed on his lip.“And how much of this stuff is illegal?”

 

Lance waved a hand.“We wouldn’t get caught.Live a little, Keith.”

 

Keith was a good kid.He was never particularly enthused towards anything like sports or his schoolwork, just enough to get by, but he had a certain thing for not disappointing foster parents.And then there was the whole college aspect, in which Keith did _not_ want to get arrested three months before college.So normally, Keith would calmly call Lance crazy, like he always did when Lance brought up another scheme. 

 

But Keith was well past the state of Fuck It.

 

He took a bite of his pancake, chewing slowly, Lance’s eyes following his motions eagerly.

 

“Okay.Let’s do it.”

 

~~~~~

 

In an unsurprising twist of fate, the first thing on Lance’s Fuck-It List (appropriately titled as they both paid the bill and Lance popped a mint into his mouth, laughing at the brilliance of the idea) was a basic no-parents bad-decisions-rampant high school party.

 

Given the fact that it was prom night, Keith had no doubts in mind that they’d manage to find one.And with a short text to some kid from his physics class (because Keith may have helped him with an assignment every now and then, enough to warrant a favor), they were on their way to one.“Big rager, guaranteed,” apparently.

 

And sure enough, when they showed up, Keith bringing the car to a stop across the street, the place was packed—cars parked along the entire street, windows open, music blaring out into the night, cups and bottles strewn across the lawn.Keith muttered some choice profanity under his breath; Lance practically buzzed in his seat.

 

They made their way across the lawn, carefully avoiding any rowdy kids who had clearly had too much to drink, and stepped through the doorway.Keith glanced around at the throng of people mingling and dancing and tossing back cups underneath some cheap colored strobe lights and a heavy bass.It was an introvert’s nightmare.

 

Lance appeared at his side, mumbling something about finding drinks, and then disappeared just as quickly.

 

Keith lost sight of him almost immediately, biting his lip and trying to weave his way through the crowd until he found a nice spot by the wall, next to a poor potted cactus adorned with a solo cup hat.He pulled out his phone, scrolling through his notifications—a cheeky _How’s prom?_ text from Pidge, a more concerned _Saw you left. Hope your night is going well._ from Shiro—and quietly tapped out the beat to the music with his foot.

 

“Here,” Lance breathed, appearing at his side once more with a shot in each hand.“First shot of the night?”

 

Keith glanced at the liquid dubiously.“Can’t.I have to drive your sorry ass around the rest of the night.”

 

Lance stuck his tongue out at Keith, but quickly recovered from his wounded pride and shrugged.He tossed back the first glass, wincing profusely (Keith had to resist the urge to laugh), and then grinned.“Well, in your honor,” he said, and finished the second.

 

Keith watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, and cleared his throat.“I’m touched,” he remarked drily.

 

“Hey, we’re partners in crime,” Lance stated, as if it were obvious.As if they hadn’t been in the same state of are-we-friends-or-does-he-hate-me for the past four years.He swept his gaze across the crowd, probably searching for more alcohol, but then— “Oh my God, look, Keith—It’s Shiro.”

 

“What?” Keith turned, following the direction that Lance had been looking, squinting through the crowds as if that would suddenly reveal a formerly tux-clad prom king at some dirty house party.“Where?”

 

“Just kidding,” Lance teased, slinging himself over Keith’s shoulders and grabbing both of Keith’s wrists.“But hey, now that I have you—looks like it’s time to dance!”

 

Keith tried to shake off Lance’s hands, frowning at the idea of having to dance, and in front of _people_ , no less (and in front of Lance? Not a chance).

 

“Hold up,” he said, when Lance attempted to tug him towards where most of the crowd was congregated in some writhing, grinding mass.“I—I don’t really dance.”

 

Lance looked back, lacing their fingers for a firmer grip on Keith’s hands.He quirked a grin, already beginning a slight shimmy of the shoulders and inadvertently tugging Keith’s arms along. “That so? I _knew_ something was fishy when I didn’t see you doing the Cha-Cha Slide back at prom.Well, My Chemical Romance, there’s a first time for everything.”

 

“I’m _not_ dancing,” Keith hissed, trying his hardest to ignore the red creeping onto his cheeks. (Embarrassment? Lance’s hand in his?He wasn’t sure.)

 

“Oh, really?”Lance gave a significant tug to Keith’s right hand, causing him to stumble sideways in a sad sort of twirl, until his back collided against Lance’s chest, Lance’s arm tight around him.Lance’s voice—a bit too loud, really, but not entirely unwelcome—was by his ear when he spoke.“Looks like you’re dancing.”

 

Keith ignored the shiver down his back for a variety of reasons and thought, _You know what? Fuck it._ Biting his lip to maintain some level of composure, he twirled back out on Lance’s arm and then tugged, sending Lance stumbling forward into his chest.“Fine,” he snapped, though it lacked the bite he had intended.“We’re dancing, then.One song.”

 

Lance looked just a bit dazed under the lights (they were a bit disorienting, Keith had to admit), his grin slow to take to his face.But when it did, boy, was it a grin.Keith tried, and failed, to ignore the tight feeling in his chest. 

 

Lance nodded in response, weaving his way through the crowd with one hand still holding Keith’s, tugging him along.Eventually he managed to find an empty spot (though empty was relative; Keith felt nearly suffocated, but he supposed there was room to stand) and pulled Keith close against him.

 

“Now what?” Keith asked, feeling far too sober for his own good.

 

Lance grinned. “We _dance_.” 

 

And dance he did, starting with a shimmy and turning it into a body roll and then Keith lost track of what song was playing, finding himself bouncing along with an ever-growing enthusiasm.Lance danced like he was made to dance, all free energy fizzling out through his limbs in a graceless pattern that somehow looked attractive anyways.He alternated between stepping back to simultaneously show off and give Keith his space, and pulling Keith tight against his chest, head turned back in a laugh as Keith tried to banish his embarrassment.

 

(And Keith?Well, Keith managed to keep to the beat, more or less.) 

 

One song turned into two and two turned into four and Keith found himself not minding so much, sticking close to Lance until Lance lead him back out of the crowd and went in search of more drinks.Lance came back bearing a Coke in one hand and a cup in the other, handing the Coke to Keith and then marking a shaky five across Keith’s hand “to keep track.”

 

Keith laughed.“You okay there?”

 

“‘Course I am,” Lance said sweetly, tapping Keith’s cheek.“You’re having fun too, right?”

 

“A bit,” Keith mumbled, glancing down into his Coke like it would reveal life’s secrets.Lance only hummed, leaning against the wall next to Keith, and when Keith looked up, he was simply smiling at him.Keith cleared his throat; Lance’s grins were contagious, so he forced himself to look away, and Lance began to scan the crowd out of boredom.

 

"Wait a second,” Lance breathed, eyes going all squinty in thought.He scanned the crowd once more, fixating at something (or someone) in the next room, and then hissed, “ _Please_ tell me this isn’t George Dick’s territory.”

 

Keith sucked in a breath, the tension in the room suddenly skyrocketing.He hadn’t _thought_ , and sure, he’d only asked an acquaintance, but—oh, God, sure enough, there they were.A handful of pretentiously-dressed holier-than-thou assholes, all huddling together as though they didn’t dare mix in with the plebeians.The George L. Richards Academy logo, an overly-complicated GLRA in golden cursive, was visible on their jackets even from across the entire room.

 

“Shit,” Keith said, turning to Lance.“I didn’t realize—“

 

“Look at them, all smug like they’re better than us,” Lance seethed, ignoring Keith.He took a small step forward, subconsciously or not, but Keith flung out an arm to hold him in place.“What are you doing? You _know_ I have a bone to pick with them.”

 

“We all do, Lance, that’s no reason to start a fight in the middle of a party.”

 

Lance snorted, raising an eyebrow.“After what they did to Shiro?They—“

 

“Shiro’s my friend, too.Calm down.”

 

Lance bit his lip, considering Keith’s words.After a minute, he ducked his head, relenting.“Alright, fine.”With one hand squeezing Keith’s shoulder, he grinned.“Get me another drink?”

 

Keith narrowed his eyes in confusion.Lance was stubborn—maybe not as stubborn as him, but stubborn nonetheless, and for him to drop something that had gotten him worked up so quickly…it was suspicious, to say the least.But hey, he told himself, maybe Lance was trying.And for that, he was grateful.“Be right back,” he mumbled, and ducked under Lance’s arm to head in the direction of the kitchen.

 

It took him probably three straight minutes of dodging people dancing, grinding, making out, and god knows what else to reach what Keith presumed was the kitchen (if he was judging by the stacks of mostly-empty handles lining the countertops and a Gatorade jug that he assumed was a makeshift keg). 

 

There he poured a shot of something-or-another from the first bottle he found, nearly gagging at the scent because _seriously, was that acetone?_ But hey, if Lance was willing to back down from a fight, then all was worth it.

 

Heading back out into the living room (or, at least, the room where everyone was packed), he scanned the crowd for Lance—first sweep, and no sight of him.Second sweep, and he felt a sense of anxiety growing in his chest when he finally spotted him cornered (or was Lance on the offensive? He couldn’t tell) against the wall by some GLRA asshats.One of them looked familiar, but Keith couldn’t quite put his finger on his name.

 

“Shit,” Keith muttered, weaving his way through the crowd to get a better look.Fortunately, no one seemed to be paying much mind, still focusing on the blaring of the music and the haze of alcohol.

 

“Fuck you,” Lance was saying when Keith crept within earshot.( _Oh, good,_ Keith thought. _At least he’s being nice_.)

 

“The fuck is this kid, even?” asked one of them incredulously, stepping up behind the one Keith recognized and crossing his arms.

 

The one Keith recognized—what was his name? Ben? Len?—raised an eyebrow, and snorted, stepping closer to jab one finger into Lance’s chest.“No, no.I remember you.You’re the one who wants to be a pilot, right?All you do is talk about that.The one who wants to be a pilot but is too stupid to do jack shit about it.” 

 

He laughed, shaking his head, and Keith watched with a crumbling heart as Lance’s eyebrows twitched, losing a bit of their ferocity.It was like watching a puppy get kicked by a bodybuilder.(A big, lanky puppy.Maybe a great dane.)

 

The one Keith recognized—shit, _Sendak_ , that was his name, the bastard—leaned forward into Lance’s space.“You’re the one who couldn’t do shit when we beat up that friend of yours, aren’t you?”

 

In an instant, it felt like the room went silent.The music faded to background noise, all the other people fading from Keith’s peripheral. _Like hell he is_.Keith shook his head, downed the shot held in his hand, relishing the burn as it slithered into his gut (where it was already beginning to feel like hellfire), and—this, perhaps, not even the most regrettable decision of the night—marched straight up to Sendak and punched the asshole in the face.

 

The room erupted into chaos.Keith leapt back, clutching his hand to his chest because _shit that fucking hurt like a motherfucker,_ while Sendak stumbled back into the the chest of his friend, who proceeded to yell profanities at Keith, who then tripped over someone’s foot and landed into the completely unsuspecting arms of Lance.Lance looked like a poorly constructed blend of emotions (most of which Keith couldn’t decipher under the dim lighting and, well, circumstances)—sad, in a way, definitely still a little angry, and sure as hell surprised.

 

“Are you okay?” Keith found himself asking.

 

Lance blinked down at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish.“Are you insane?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“I’m going to fucking kill you!”

 

The two of them turned their attention to Sendak, who—with the help of his friend, evidently—had regained his balance and was about two seconds from committing murder.

 

“Time to go,” Lance breathed.

 

“Yeah,” Keith agreed.

 

Sendak lurched forward, but Keith was already wheeling backwards, feeling himself tugged along by Lance’s hand on his bicep.Lance navigated through the crowd with the grace of someone far more sober than he was, pulling Keith along with him.Keith could hear the angry complaints as Sendak (much larger than Lance) crashed into people behind them, and could barely breathe from the building anticipation when Lance yanked him sideways all of a sudden, concealing the both of them in a doorway.

 

Sendak came crashing past, like a giant on a rampage, his friends following behind him as a poor sort of damage control.

 

Lance followed them with his gaze, waiting a good few seconds before pulling Keith back out of the doorway and then—Keith thanked his lucky stars—out of the house completely.Their feet hit the pavement, and then they were running, Sendak close to mind but far away.It was probably only a matter of seconds, really, before they reached the car, but Keith felt like he wouldn’t mind running hand-in-hand with Lance for much longer.

 

(That is, if their lives weren’t in danger.)

 

“Oh my God,” Keith gasped, throwing himself into the car and slamming the driver’s door shut. He fumbled for the keys, eventually managing to get them into the ignition.“ _Please_ tell me the rest of the things on your list are better than that.”

 

Lance laughed, a little bit giddy.He ran a hand through his hair, and threw a look over his shoulder towards the party.Ignoring Keith’s question completely, he pointed a demanding finger in his direction.“Floor it, Gyeong!”

 

Keith threw the car out of park and pressed down on the accelerator.“You’re so buzzed.”

 

“I’m a little buzzed!” Lance agreed.“But that was great!”

 

“Speak for yourself,” Keith gasped, trying to get his heart back under control.He steered the car back into the main road and then set his course for _Anywhere But Here_. “I almost died!”

 

Lance wheeled on him, face lit up in a huge grin that almost made Keith forget the heart-breaking expression from earlier.“You punched a guy!”

 

“I did,” Keith agreed. He still felt the throbbing in his knuckles.“And it was awful.”

 

Lance laughed airily, leaning back in his seat.He stared straight ahead at the road, almost wistfully, and then repeated, “You punched a guy _for me_.”

 

Keith shook his head.He glanced in the rear-view mirror, thankful that the party was far behind, and all that remained was a heady feeling of Lance’s body on his while they danced, the faint tune of some upbeat pop song, and the pain in his fingers. 

 

And was it worth it?Maybe.

 

~~~~~

 

Lance, after regaining some of his sense, had directed Keith to a seemingly quiet spot in another neighborhood uptown, where a girl Lance claimed to have once dated apparently lived.“There’s a great pool,” Lance gushed, eyes scanning the houses and street signs for familiarity.“I’ve always wanted to break in for a night swim.”

 

Eventually they found it, Keith parking his car an unsuspicious two blocks away.Lance lead the way with a hummed tune, arms swinging by his sides, obviously still under some affect of the alcohol.

 

They came across a fence, and behind it, the pool, the water sparkling from the underwater lights, making it seem like the holy grail.And Keith figured, with the way his hair was beginning to curl against his neck from the summertime heat, it may just as well have been.

 

Lance let out a mighty grunt, pulling himself up on the fence and struggling to kick a leg over the top.Keith rolled his eyes; he walked sideways a few feet and tested the gate.When it swung open, he resisted a laugh and instead marched right inside the pool.Lance caught wind of this immediately, making a dissatisfied whine of _Not fair_ as he practically toppled over the fence and landed off kilter with a grunt.

 

“Not my fault you don’t use your brain,” Keith murmured with a lazy shrug, marching forward to peer into the edge of the pool.

 

The water was shockingly blue, like from the animes that Keith used to watch when he was little, practically ripple-free, with nearly-tangible light beams shining through from the walls.It was peaceful, with no kids running rampant, screaming and splashing and whatever else kids did in pools.Almost creepy.

 

Keith turned back to Lance to comment on the fact, but froze at the sight of Lance loosening his tie around his already-unbuttoned shirt, pulling it up over his head and then shrugging off the shirt soon after.

 

“Um.”Keith blinked, mentally backtracked, and then realized that, _yes_ , that _was_ Lance stripping.And he was halfway done, too, his (equally freckled) back exposed to the cool night air, hands already fiddling with his dress pants.“ _What_ are you doing?” 

 

Lance froze, glancing over his shoulder with a somewhat sheepish grin.(Keith filed away the fact that Lance blushed not just on his cheeks, but also his ears, and his shoulders.) He waved a hand lazily.“Yeah, see, that’s the next thing on the list: skinny dipping.”

 

“No way—“

 

Lance’s pants pooled around his ankles, and he gracelessly kicked them off along with his shoes.“ _Relax_ , it’s dark, and besides—I won’t look if you don’t.”And with that, and a wink, Lance shoved his boxers to his ankles, taking three steps forward and arching his body into a flying leap into the pool.

 

Keith had to resist slapping a palm over his eyes, mentally repeating something mature along the lines of _Lance has a booty_ and the chorus to Bubble Butt.He recovered after the shower of water (courtesy of Lance’s bubble butt) thoroughly doused his thrift-store-rental suit, and yelled out.

 

Lance surfaced, laughing, brushing his hair back from his forehead, and pushed another splash in Keith’s direction.“C’mon, we don’t have all night.”

 

Keith bristled, throwing off his jacket and working through loosening his tie.“Fuck you, Lance, Dave bought this—“

 

“It’ll _dry_ —“

 

“The _chlorine_ —“

 

Lance splashed him again, the bastard, but at that point Keith was already down to his boxers and demanding, “Turn around!” because he’d be damned if he wasn’t at least leaving this situation with his dignity intact.Lance snorted, holding his hands up in surrender and turning around.Keith made quick work of dropping his underwear and slipping into the pool right by the edge, no theatrics necessary.

 

The cold was shocking against his warm skin, and he dunked his head under the water once to cool the blush that he felt coming on.When he surfaced, taking a breath, Lance still had his back turned, the ripples from Keith’s motions lapping by his shoulders.

 

Keith took another breath, hands anchoring him to the wall so Lance had zero chance of seeing anything.“I’m—it’s alright.You can turn around.”

 

Lance slipped onto his back with a hum, making a few lazy strokes to the wall, a few feet down from Keith.

 

“See?It’s not so bad.”

 

Keith was too stubborn to admit to Lance being right, and also wasn’t entirely sure if he _was_ right.The fact that he had somehow wound up trespassing naked in a pool with an equally naked Lance did nothing to calm his nerves.If anything, he had become hyperaware of each small motion Lance took, each sound of pitching breath.

 

“How’s Dave doing, by the way?”

 

Keith jumped, blinking at Lance with wide eyes.All his time of knowing him, and Keith sort of forgot that Lance was one of the ones deemed close enough to know Keith’s situation.He couldn’t even remember telling him; the fact that Lance even remembered his foster dad’s name was surprising.

 

“He’s good,” he said softly.“So is Jeanine.”

 

Lance hummed.“How do they feel about you leaving them for college soon?”

 

Keith leaned forward, resting his chin on the poolside.He played with a puddle of water that had gathered on the concrete, gently stirring it with his index finger.“Hm, I don’t know.I’ll just be a couple of hours away, and they agreed to keep me on breaks and whatnot, so it’s not like a ton is changing.”

 

“You got that full ride, didn’t you?At Tech?”

 

“Yeah,” Keith admitted.“Engineering.”The thought struck him suddenly, that even though Lance seemed to know a lot about him, he didn’t even know where _Lance_ was going to school in a few months.

 

“Where are you even going next year?”

 

Lance chewed his lip, offering a bashful smile.“Naval Academy.”He turned so that his back was against the pool wall and he was facing Keith.“I want to be a pilot, have wanted that since I was just a kid, so I had to study a _lot_ , which fucking sucked, but I mean—It was definitely worth it.”

 

“Jesus, Lance—“ Keith raised his eyebrows, standing straighter.“I had no idea.”

 

“What?That I was smart?I’m not, not really, it’s just learning how to take tests, the way they want you—“

 

“No idea that you were that hardworking,” Keith said.Lance shut up, tilting his head slightly in confusion, so Keith continued.“I mean, I guess I always thought you were kind of carefree, you know?You’re always joking around and being a little shit so—I don’t know, this sounds really harsh, but—I guess I didn’t realize you had any longterm goals.And that you’d be so dedicated to them.It’s…kind of impressive, really.”

 

It was quiet.After a moment, Lance let out a little laugh, this one not annoying like his usual ones.“I guess we don’t know each other that well after all.”

 

“Yeah, we definitely wasted the past four years then.”

 

Lance paused, eyes glazing over in some strange far-away expression.His reaction gave Keith pause, almost made him want to take the words back.(Were they true? Absolutely.Embarrassing?Definitely.)But right as Keith was about to open his mouth, Lance laughed.He shook his head.“You’re a riot, really.So funny.”

 

Keith’s brows furrowed in confusion.“I was being genuine.”

 

Lance snorted, grin still teasing his lips.“Yeah, sure you were.Because that’s what friends do, isn’t it?You and me, though? Hardly.”

 

Keith rolled his eyes.“Oh, come on.We’re friends, aren’t we?We were having a _bonding_ moment.”

 

“Mm, nope.Don’t think so.”

 

“What?We so are.” Keith spread his hand wide, gesturing around the pool.“This is bonding.Hardcore bonding.We’re having starlit talks about our futures.”

 

Lance kept grinning, but crossed his arms across his chest and shook his head.“Nope, never happened, I don’t see any witnesses, and it’s your word against mine.”

 

Keith groaned, throwing his hands skyward.“You’re infuriating.”

 

“ _There_ we go,” Lance started with a laugh.“Things were getting weirdly emotional for a bit.”

 

Keith splashed him.

 

Lance spluttered, blinking eyes in apparent shock that _Keith_ would resort to something so immature in order to shut him up.And yes, maybe Keith felt a bit of embarrassment at his actions, but seeing Lance’s face was funny enough to make him do it again.So he did, this time pushing as much water as he could with both hands.

 

Lance gasped.“You little shit!” he hissed, splashing back with equal fervor.

 

“Fuck you!” Keith snapped, sending another splash, which Lance flopped sideways to avoid.“You’re the one who wants to ignore that we’re friends!”

 

Lance started laughing, taking turns to dodge a splash here, send a splash there.“You’re the one who’s been ignoring that for years!”

 

Keith ducked underwater to avoid a splash; then, seeming to realize that underwater he had the potential of seeing Lance’s, well, _Lance_ , he pulled up just as quickly, only to be greeted in the face by a tidal wave of water.

 

He coughed, eyes narrowing, and spun around to catch Lance’s retreating back with a splash of equal size. “Well I’m not ignoring it now, you fuck!”

 

Lance spun, marching forward back towards Keith and sending splashes with each step he took, until Keith was a spluttering mess.“Fine, then I won’t either,” he said, and Keith threw his hands up in surrender.

 

“Fine!” Keith gasped, when the barrage stopped and he could catch a breath.His hair blocked his eyes, gone heavy and flat from the water; he wiped his bangs out of his eyes.He had intended a glare, but instead, when he looked at Lance, his face and voice had become equally soft.“We’re friends, then.”

 

Suddenly, it seemed, there was just a foot of space between them.

 

What had been a juvenile attempt to get the other the most wet when they were already, in fact, in a pool had turned into something else.They were both breathing audibly; if Keith wanted to admit it, he figured their breaths must’ve been mingling in the proximity.The pool water felt cool against his skin, but the air between them felt stifling.

 

Keith watched a lonely droplet of water fall from Lance’s soaked bangs, curving a path over the bridge of his nose and then pooling—almost teasingly so—at the bow of his lips.

 

“I feel like I won, for some reason,” Lance said quietly.

 

Keith swallowed, and glanced up.Lance had always been infuriatingly obsessed with winning, and he was talking about their stupid splash fight.But when Lance held his gaze, looking oddly serious, Keith had to reconsider.Maybe he wasn’t.

 

Either way, Keith admitted to himself, Lance was right.He very much felt like he had lost.

 

“Maybe,” he whispered.

 

He felt like Lance stepped forward, or maybe a ripple in the water sent his own balance off in a way that had him stumbling, but a foot became inches and the air went from warm to burning.

 

“Maybe,” Lance echoed with a lighthearted scoff.He raised an eyebrow, like he normally would when he was teasing Keith, but the expression lacked something it normally had and they both knew it.“Scared of admitting it?”

 

Keith’s eyes fell across the smattering of freckles on Lance’s cheeks; he followed a trail down to Lance’s shoulders—tan, and skinny, but with wiry muscle visible to him—and then stared across the expanse of Lance’s bare chest.He looked long enough to realize there was no hiding it, and upon looking back up to Lance’s eyes, realized that there was no need.

 

Lance raised a hand from the water.It seemed to hover in the air for a moment, not knowing what exactly to do, before it landed with some air of finality on Keith’s upper arm.It was just a hand, but it wasn’t—it was _Lance’s_ hand, on him, and Keith felt like he might very likely burst into flames.

 

“Maybe,” he choked out again.

 

The ghost of a smile that had been on Lance’s lips stilled, and shrank, until Lance had the nerve to look confused.Keith wanted in on his internal debate, wanted to know anything that might cross his mind, but— 

 

Well, Keith couldn’t _say_ that.So he stepped forward instead, his own hand (having the courage to do what his lips could not) reaching out to touch Lance at the curve between his neck and shoulder.

 

Lance took a breath.This time, when he shook his head ever so slightly, his nose brushed Keith’s.And when he exhaled (a quick puff that Keith felt against his lips), it sounded like profanity.

 

“Me too,” he whispered.

 

Lance’s thumb rubbed circles on his bicep.Keith swallowed and began, “Then—?”It was a question, and could’ve ended any number of ways: Then what do we do?Then who says it first?Then _will you kiss me_?

 

“Hey, you kids there!”

 

They both jolted at the shock, Keith flinching forward and bumping his mouth against Lance’s.He jerked back just as suddenly, fingers slapping against his lips, as Lance wheeled around to see—it was a security guard, wasn’t it? It had to be, but _oh my god_ he just kissed _Lance_ —who exactly had just yelled at them.

 

“Fuck,” Lance hissed, swinging one leg onto the ledge and kind of rolling his way out of the pool.Keith swung his gaze around and—yes, sure enough, there by the gate was a tired-looking man shining a flashlight in their direction.

 

“Shit.”

 

“Keith,” Lance barked, and Keith turned to see him extending a hand.Keith took it, dignity be damned, flopping out of the pool with as much grace as a circus monkey.He scrambled around, grabbing a shoe here, a shirt there (he really was going to kill Lance, or at least forward his dry-cleaning bill). 

 

“Stop!This is private property!”

 

“Noted, have a lovely evening!” Lance screamed, clothes gathered in a heaping mess in his arms.He wrapped a hand around Keith’s wrist before Keith could even process the better half of what was happening, and then they were running, feet slapping the concrete as they wheeled past the security guard who definitely wasn’t paid enough and out onto the street.

 

Lance dropped a shoe, or something, and yelped, falling behind Keith as he went to fetch it from the pavement.Keith considered waiting, but really, he couldn’t survive time in the slammer.He’d seen plenty of horror movies, and when the hot girl trips, you let her trip.Keith wasn’t normally a selfish individual, but if Lance was the hot girl, Keith was willing to sacrifice him. 

 

“Every man for himself!” he screamed, maybe to be a little bit petty, and kept running.

 

“Oh my God,” Lance gasped from somewhere behind Keith, evidently recovered from his hot-girl-trip, words barely recognizable among his laughter.“Dude, your—your ass is the palest thing I have _ever_ seen.”

 

Keith curved around the pool building, starting his sprint towards where they had parked the car.His cheeks felt like they were on fire, and he mustered up his scariest glare.“I’m going to fucking kill you, Lance!”

 

“It’s—it’s—“Lance tried to breath, struggling to keep up while laughing so hard.“It’s a full moon tonight!”

 

Keith turned—running from that security guard be damned—and started sprinting after Lance, screaming death threats as he went.It took Lance two seconds to figure out he should be scared for his life and bolt away, Keith hot on his heels.

 

“You’re fucking dead!”

 

“Get to the car first, Moon Moon!” Lance hollered over his shoulder.

 

Keith screamed, glancing down at the pile of clothes in his arms.He grabbed one of his shoes and chucked it; it hit Lance square in the back.

 

“Ow, fuck you!” Lance snapped, slowing his pace and quickly bending to pick up the shoe for Keith.

 

Keith could see the car in the distance, and relief at not being arrested started to seep into his brain.In a bout of near-hysterics—possibly from the adrenaline, possibly from the exhaustion of it being half-past one in the morning, possibly from the hilarity of Lance tripping over a curb in his bare feet and bare everything-else—he started laughing.And pretty soon he was full-out losing it, cracking up in a way that he hadn’t in a long, long time. 

 

They both threw themselves in the car after hastily pulling on some shorts (and Keith thoroughly banishing the thought of naked Lance from his mind), and then Lance caught wind of Keith’s snickers, and started laughing again, too.

 

“Let’s get out of here,” he said.  


Keith was breathless, and exhilarated, staring at Lance as if there hadn’t just been a maybe-sort-of-kind-of kiss, as if he hadn’t just felt a maybe-sort-of-kind-of spark along with it.Not a big spark.Hardly enough electricity to power anything.(Enough to keep a heart pumping, maybe.)

 

_Are we going to talk about it?_ he wondered.

 

Lance was still laughing, glancing in the rearview mirror for the security guard, but Keith seriously doubted the man cared enough to follow.

 

And yet, the night wasn’t over yet.Lance glanced back at Keith, cheeks stretched wide from grinning, and said, “Floor it, Gyeong.”

 

Keith figured the talking could wait.He didn’t need to be told twice.After all, he didn’t feel like living in the past quite so much anymore.

 

~~~~~

 

They wound up at a Sonic in some unnamed town about an hour away (the closest one, according to Google Maps), sitting in the car and eating the massive haul of junk food that Lance had ordered.Keith felt like he should’ve been more tired, perhaps, than he currently was.The excitement of the night had pumped some adrenaline into his veins, keeping him from feeling the reasonable amount of exhaustion for 3:14 in the morning.

 

Lance, who’d realized shortly after they’d driven away from the pool that he’d forgotten his shirt there, was currently wearing a way-too-small pink _Pretty Princess_ t-shirt that one of Keith’s foster sisters had left in his car forever ago and happily munching away on some tater tots.

 

Keith had no idea _why_ Sonic made the Fuck-It List, but he had to admit that he’d never actually had it himself.So he went along with it, taking the box of tater tots that Lance handed him and allowing himself to relish the taste for a solid two seconds.

 

“They’re just…regular tater tots,” Keith said after a thorough assessment, dumbfounded.Was that it?Sure, the popcorn chicken was pretty decent, but—everything tasted just like normal fast food.“What’s all the hype about?”

 

Lance shrugged, dunking a piece of popcorn chicken into some ketchup.“I’ve never been before.Plus, it’s all about the aesthetic.”

 

“The aesthetic,” Keith deadpanned.

 

“Yeah, I like the whole drive-in, waitresses bringing you your food on roller-skates, kind of thing.All fun and nostalgic. It fits my aesthetic.”

 

Keith raised an eyebrow dubiously.“ _You_ have an aesthetic?”

 

Lance rolled his eyes, waving a curly fry in Keith’s direction.“Everyone has an aesthetic.They may not be as cringey as _yours_ , but still.”Lance barked out a laugh, turning in Keith’s direction.“What’s your aesthetic anyways, My Chemical Romance?Angsty two thousand’s emo pop, nobody-understands-me diary entries, and pastel goth floral arrangements?”

 

Keith rolled his eyes, trying to keep the grin off his lips.“Not my aesthetic, thanks.”

 

“Wake me up,” Lance teased, and then whispered, “Wake me up inside.”

 

Keith tossed a fry in his direction.“Oh, my God, shut up.”

 

Lance grabbed the fry and tossed it into his mouth, munching away happily.“Alright, then what’s your aesthetic?”

 

“Mm,” Keith hummed, taking a sip of his slushee to think.“I like stars—like stargazing, I guess, even just looking at the moon is fine—and the sunrise too, actually.And—and I like watching people dance, even if I don’t want to, because it just _looks_ like…fun. I don’t know.And I like, uh, like, morning when it’s really foggy but not cold or dark or anything, just kind of…foggy.”

 

Realizing how dumb he was beginning to sound, Keith shut his mouth and busied himself instead with the slushee.He waited in abject silence for Lance to call him out on it, say he was pretentious, or stupid, or whatever else he felt like.

 

“Hm,” Lance began, contemplative.“Hard to name, but it sounds like wanderlust to me.”

 

Keith paused, glancing at Lance with a question in his eyes.

 

“Like…you wanna see the world, y’know?So you settle for the exciting things around you, because they’re different each time, and it feels a little bit like they’re something new each time you see them.”Lance looked at the window, growing a bit quieter.“I feel that way too, sometimes.”

 

A bit dumbstruck (a bit lovestruck), Keith nodded.“Y-yeah.Guess so.”

 

Suddenly, something in the rear-view mirror seemed to catch Lance’s attention, and he spun around in his seat, squinting at the row of shops behind them. He let out an excited noise, beckoning for Keith to take a look, whatever introspective mood had settled over them disappearing in an instant.“Look, it’s fate!”

 

Keith frowned, glancing over the back of the seat rest and—“Oh.Oh, no.”

 

The glowing lights of _Tattoo Parlor_ and _Open 24/7_ caused high pitched horror movie violins to screech in Keith’s brain, bringing goosebumps to his skin.“Lance, you can’t be serious.”

 

“It’s next on the list,” Lance said simply, waving his phone just out of Keith’s view.“Get a tattoo and piercing.”

 

“I already have a piercing,” Keith said, in hopes that Lance would not _seriously_ make him get a tattoo.

 

“Then you just need to get a tattoo,” Lance said perkily.His eyes flickered over to Keith’s ears, confusion knitting his brows.“Wait—you have a piercing already?”

 

Keith stuck out his tongue.

 

“Oh.”Lance cleared his throat.“R-right.”His gaze dropped from Keith’s tongue down to his lap, and then back.“Well—you—what was I saying?”

 

Keith pulled his tongue back in his mouth, rolling the ball of his tongue piercing against his teeth.“I’m _not_ getting a tattoo,” he repeated.

 

“Tattoos, right.”Lance typed something into his phone, likely pulling up the webpage for the tattoo parlor.“So I figure, we can just pick something out for each other, like a trust exercise.That way it’s fair.”

 

Keith felt like he was seeing stars.“A _trust_ exercise?Lance, a trust exercise is falling and seeing if someone will catch you.A trust exercise is _not_ letting someone pick something permanent on your body.”

 

Lance rolled his eyes, enunciating each syllable slowly, as if Keith were dense.“ _YO-LO,_ Keith. _YOLO._ ”

 

“You’re insane!”

 

“What?” Lance’s brows furrowed.“I trust you.Are you telling me I shouldn’t?”

 

“I—“ Keith didn’t know what to say.Or, wait, except he did.“You’re _insane_.You don’t know what I would pick.”

 

“ _Maybe_.But I know you’re not a shitty person,” he admitted, looking rather rueful to admit it.“Even if I may have given you shit for the past for years—which, to my defense, you did too—I trust that you wouldn't massively fuck over my life.Plus, we’re _friends_ now.Besides—“ He shrugged, waving his phone with a lazy grin.“Looks like they do tattoo removals too.”

 

Keith opened and closed his mouth, struggling to come up with a reasonable response.He jabbed a finger into Lance’s chest.“Fuck you, don’t make me feel like a terrible person just because you’re _way_ too trusting of your friends.”

 

“I am a perfectly reasonable amount of trusting, thank you very much.”

 

“Bull _shit_.”

 

Lance scoffed, leaning forward and holding out a hand, pinky extended.“C’ _mon_. I pinky promise I won’t pick anything bad—I’d go so far as to say I’ll pick something you like, even.You need something to remember your miserable high school life!And when we go to different schools in a few months, a whole _whopping_ four hours apart, like we're in entirely different worlds, you’ll always have something to remember me—your loving, trusting friend.”

 

Keith rolled his eyes, trying to ignoring the massive drama queen that Lance was.He sighed, running a palm over his face, and then shakily extended his hand—because what else was he if not a lovestruck, spineless _idiot_ —watching the way that Lance lit up at the gesture.

 

Lance eagerly wrapped his pinky around Keith’s, giving a solid tug and pressing a sarcastic salute to his forehead.“I won’t let you down, I swear.”

 

_You’re a fool, Gyeong_ , Keith thought to himself. _A goddamn fool._

 

~~~~~

 

“So does it mean something to you two?”

 

Keith glanced up, taking a breath (his chest was feeling so, so tight) and trying to ignore the impending headache from how tightly he had squeezed his eyes shut.He glanced over at the tattoo artist, biting his lip to avoid whining at the sight of the needle punching in and out of his skin with that god-awful _bzzzzz_. 

 

“What?” he asked, intelligently.

 

The tattoo artist glanced up from her work for a second, flipping her bangs out of her face and then refocusing on Keith’s right forearm.Keith couldn’t _quite_ see what she was tattooing (probably a crude dick-butt drawing, because he wouldn’t put it past Lance to pick that out for him), only just a few minimalistic black lines that reminded him of something exciting, flowing, alive. 

 

“The lion.”She bit her tongue, leaning closer to etch out some detailing closer to the underside of Keith’s elbow—and _god_ , did that hurt.“Does it mean something?”

 

Keith squinted down at his own arm, but her hand obscured the view.Yes, he’d picked out a lion for Lance.It was…striking.Smooth, soft lines that made him think of a flowing river.The animal looked alive, ready to jump straight off the page and startle the hell out of you.It was perfect for him.But he’d given that design to _Lance’s_ artist.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

His artist hummed, glancing once more at him.“Well, you both picked out lions.I thought it might mean something between you two?”

 

_You both picked out lions_.Keith looked again at his forearm, and yes, it was upside down from where he was looking, but if he picked apart the lines that looked kind of like fire, he could tell that they made up a lion—small, definitely delicate, barely bigger than a plum.It was elegant, he’d dare to say.Kind of suited him.

 

And to think that Lance had chosen that, for him?Well, the night certainly was full of surprises.

 

His artist seemed to be making some finishing touches, and Keith watched in awe as she finally pulled back the gun to observe her work.Evidently satisfied, she began to dress it, running Keith through the ropes of tattoo care.Keith tried to listen, even going so far as to make a well-timed nod here and there, but his eyes remained glued to the design, now (and forever) decorating his forearm.

 

“Your friend should be almost done,” the artist said after a beat of silence.“If you’d like to go see him.”

 

Keith found himself nodding, then glanced up from his forearm, her words registering.“Um, yes, thank you.”

 

She cracked a grin, maybe for the first time in their whole exchange, and pointed her thumb over her shoulder.“He’s in the next room.”

 

Keith thanked her, and stood, making his way on shaky legs into the next room.There, he found Lance lying on his stomach, faced away from both Keith and the artist currently working on his design.

 

Lance’s artist was currently finishing the curve of the tail of the lion, one that snaked up close to the pit of Lance’s knee.Lance sucked in his breath sharply, making a girlish squeal, and hissed, “ _Dios mio_!” 

 

Keith couldn’t help it; he started laughing, which only caused Lance to yelp again in surprise.

 

Lance turned his head, straining to see over his shoulders.He shook his head at the sight of Keith leaning in the doorway and turned back to bury his face in his arm.“Keith, don’t you dare laugh at me.”

 

“Aw, are you embarrassed?”Keith made his way towards Lance’s chair, making sure to give the tattoo artist space for what looked to be some finishing touches.He tapped Lance’s cowlick, earning a grumble in response.

 

“It looks really nice, by the way,” he said to the tattoo artist, who offered an appreciative grin in response before refocusing on his work.

 

Lance groaned.“I want to _see_.”

 

“Yeah, it’s really nice, actually.I picked out a fancy font that I figured you’d like—kind of Lord of the Rings-y, y’know?And it’s a nice little design of _Daddy_ going down your calf—“ 

 

The tattoo artist snorted, and Lance glanced up to smack a cackling Keith across his arm.Then, spotting the finished product of Lance’s imagination on Keith’s forearm, he grinned.“Hey, that turned out really nicely—“

 

“You’re done.”The tattoo artist—evidently a man of few words—sat back to admire his handiwork, and then began to put away his things.

 

Lance made an anxious face.“The grand reveal.”

 

Keith could barely contain his laughter.“Remember how you pinky-promised that you wouldn’t screw up?”

 

Lance frowned.“Yes?And I didn’t.I chose something good—“

 

Keith simply shook his head, extending his forearm.“This has to be some sick joke from the universe on us.”

 

Lance’s brows furrowed in confusion, and then he turned to take one long look at his calf.“Oh, God,” he said at last.“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

 

“You guys make a cute couple, by the way,” said Lance’s artist, who had just finished packing up his spare equipment.Keith figured he was as red as a tomato at that point.“Oh, and Grace is ready to finish checking you out, whenever you want to head to the counter.”

 

“Thanks,” Lance wheezed.

 

The tattoo artist ducked out of the room, leaving Keith and Lance to stare numbly at each other, where their lions stood out starkly against their skin.

 

“We have couple tattoos,” Lance said weakly.

 

Keith bit his lip, nodding in agreement.“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to see you again, after this.Too embarrassing.”

 

A corner of Lance’s lips quirked up, but he did his best to maintain a deadpan, continuing whatever kind of joke they were going for.“Guess we better finish tonight with a bang, then.”

 

Keith broke first; he snorted, then slapped a hand to his mouth to hide his snickers.Maybe the universe was playing a cruel joke on them, but at this point, he was starting to see the humor in it.Lance started laughing as well, shaking his head in the mirror and cuffing Keith in the shoulder.“C’mon, we gotta go pay for our newfound coupledom.”

 

Keith nodded sagely. (He ignored the whirlwind of thoughts racing in his mind—a sad mixture that culminated in something along the lines of _Is he joking or is he implying something?_ ) “And thank the artists for a match made in hell.”

 

Lance snorted, looking over his shoulder. Keith met his eye.They smiled.

 

~~~~~

 

“Okay, okay, I got one,” Lance burst out, waving a cold, limp fry in Keith’s direction.“Name a person that you’d totally fuck if they were up for it.”

 

They were on a scenic overlook about an hour out, some spot high up in the mountains that gave them a nice vantage point over the entirety of their town, which was currently only distinguishable in the dark by the faint lights in the distance.(Lance’s idea of finishing the night with a bang was, evidently, looking at the stars on the hood of Keith’s car, passing time with a game of twenty questions until the sun came up.Keith considered it corny, ironic even.A tad bit romantic.Not that he minded.)

 

Keith raised an eyebrow.“That’s broad.”

 

“Only in our class, then.”

 

He thought about it. _You_ was the closest answer, but he couldn’t simply _say_ that.And then he remembered freshman year, and laughed.“Shiro.”

 

Lance groaned.“Oh, _God_ , that’s so true.”

 

“What?I thought you liked girls.”

 

“I do!”Lance pulled himself up onto his elbow, facing Keith.“I _also_ like boys.But, let’s face it, even if I didn’t, Shiro is Shiro.Everyone thinks about fucking him at least once in their life.I’m pretty sure Shiro is the sole reason that half of the out guys in our school are out.” 

 

Keith snickered.“You’re terrible.”

 

“It’s true!”

 

“Okay, geez, it’s your turn.”

 

“Hm.”Lance chewed on a mouthful of fries, taking his time with his answer.“Allura.”

 

“Oh, please, the whole class knows that, Lance.Give a _real_ answer.”

 

“No way!I never said the answers had to be secrets, so it totally counts.Your turn.”Lance grinned smugly, tapping Keith on the nose with a fry.

 

Keith glared at him, and bit the fry, effectively stealing it from Lance.Lance protested, and then took a breath, turning back to the rest of the remaining fries with some pink in his cheeks.

 

Keith chewed slowly, trying to think of a suitable answer.As far as Keith was concerned, dating and relationships had never really crossed his mind—at least, not _seriously_ —so he didn’t really have the whole list of people he was sure Lance had.So he shrugged, and gave a half-assed, “Pidge’s brother.”

 

Lance coughed, choking on his drink.“ _What_?”

 

“What?He’s cute.He’s got Pidge’s charm without their…everything else.It’s perfectly justifiable.”

 

Lance made a face.“Oh my God, next you’re gonna tell me you’ve thought about Hunk, too.”

 

Keith raised an eyebrow, running on a hunch that they’d all had in sophomore year.“Lance, you definitely had some weird bro-crush on Hunk at some point.”

 

Covering his face with his hands, Lance groaned.“Shut up, shut up, shut up, he was like my only friend and he was a good hugger and I got _confused_.”

 

“You totally had a crush on him, oh my God.”Keith grinned, rolling onto his side and stealing one of Lance’s fries while he was writhing in humiliation.“What, Pidge too?”

 

“Okay, Pidge was even more confusing because I didn’t know whether they were a boy or girl or whatever at first, and for a newly-identified bisexual kid, that was like walking _hell_ , I hope you understand.”

 

A laugh escaped Keith’s lips, causing Lance to peek out at him.He glared.“Stop mocking me, I’m sure you had some equally embarrassing crushes.”

 

Keith glanced over Lance’s post-pool hair, sticking up in all directions, down to the crumbs of curly fries decorating his tuxedo pants, and back up to the pink _Pretty Princess_ t-shirt that stretched tightly across his chest.He thought about the stupid look on Lance’s face as they had burst out of the party, giggling maniacally, and thought about the girlish squeal he’d made when the tattoo artist had touched the pen to his skin.

 

“Yeah, I guess so.”

 

Lance grinned, rolling closer to Keith and chewing on his straw.“Do tell.I bet no one knows of this and I swear I wanna be the first.”

 

“No way,” Keith protested immediately.

 

“Oh, come on,” Lance whined, putting his drink back on the hood beside him.“I thought we were trying to learn more about each other, and you already heard about all my embarrassing secrets, so—“

 

_Fuck it,_ Keith thought for the millionth time that night, maybe because Lance’s whining was annoying and maybe because even he was tired of secrets (and really, what else did he have to lose? They had matching _tattoos_ , for whatever cosmic reason), and said, “You.”

 

Lance blinked, falling silent.His voice seemed to have dropped an octave when he whispered, “What?”

 

Keith swallowed, figuring there was no going back.He shrugged, feigning casualness, and reached for one of Lance’s fries.“I said _you_.”

 

Lance grabbed his wrist, probably to stop Keith from stealing all of his fries, but then he tugged until Keith was leaning over Lance, maybe two inches away.Keith’s eyes widened as he found himself nose to nose with the one person who used to make his blood boil out of sheer annoyance, and who now made his blood boil for an entirely different reason all together.

 

Keith could hardly make a sound; he feared that, if he did, the moment would shatter.

 

“Jokes aside; You’re not kidding?” Lance breathed, his hand still warm around Keith’s wrist, thumb tracing idle circles.Keith never would’ve imagined _Lance_ being this timid, but, well—if tonight was any evidence, there was a whole lot more to Lance that he never knew. 

 

(A whole lot more that he still wanted to discover, too.)

 

Keith shook his head, feeling Lance’s bangs brush against his forehead at the motion.Had they neared, or were they this close to begin with?Keith couldn’t keep track, mind a haze of warm, bubbly feelings.

 

“No,” he whispered.

 

Lance swallowed, and let out the most gentle of breaths, so soft Keith figured he might’ve imagined it.“I—Can I—?”

 

And then, seeming to give up on words entirely, Lance kissed him.

 

It wasn’t an accidental peck like before, not a startled brush of lips that could’ve meant anything and nothing at the same time—no, _this_ was everything Lance wanted to say, everything Keith wish he’d had the courage to say himself.This was all of Lance, the familiar parts and the parts Keith was beginning to know, all at once.It was a grin against his lips and the soft sweep of a tongue, still tasting like cherry slushees.It was a hand in his hair—tight, sometimes, and gentle, too—and another tracing the black ink on his forearm.It was the soft content sigh that quickly morphed into hiccup-sounding laughs, and it was the giddy feeling in his chest as they had to pull away.

 

“God, I—“ Keith laughed, shaking his head.“I’m so _stupid_ —“

 

Lance kissed him again, and again, framing his face with his hands.“Shut _up_ , we’re both idiots, I don’t need you putting emphasis on you more than me—“

 

“ _You’re_ so stupid—“ Keith continued.

 

Lance gasped.“Okay, never mind, I deny all fault now.This is entirely your fault and you’re the stupid one—“

 

“Shut _up_ ,” Keith managed, and—just as he had wanted from the moment he saw Lance dancing under the lights at that party, to the moment when Lance had made that flying carefree leap into the pool, to the moment when he’d seen the tattoo Lance had chosen for him, to the moment when Lance had so much as looked in his direction ever since—leaned forward to kiss him.

 

And then _this_ —this was something different altogether. 

 

(There was a difference between wanting and needing, Keith figured.And the entire night, he had been wanting.This?This was needing.)

 

There were hands on his waist, pulling him until he had knees on either sides of Lance’s hips, until they were pressed flush against one another.Keith forgot the chill of the night air against his skin as Lance’s hands skimmed up his sides, fingers nimble but strong.

 

And shit, Lance kissed like he did anything, really.He was reckless and eager and threw hundred percent of himself into it.It was all Keith could do to keep up.Lance extended his tongue, testing the waters, and Keith parted his lips.Lance nipped at his bottom lip, and Keith gently teased him back.Lance splayed a hand firmly against the small of his back, and Keith fisted a hand in Lance’s hair, giving it a sharp tug.

 

Lance gasped against Keith’s mouth.Keith tasted his profanities, and managed to keep his satisfaction to himself.

 

Using the hand in Lance’s hair as leverage, he tugged Lance’s head back and planted kisses along his jaw, his throat, nipping both at his earlobe and then at his pulse point.And when he realized that his fingers were fisting in familiar pink fabric in order to expose Lance’s shoulder, well.

 

“Can’t do this while you’re wearing my sister’s shirt,” he said simply, the rest of the request left unsaid. _So you have to take it off._

 

Lance understood regardless, and was eager to comply, pulling back for the solid eight seconds it took to remove it—and then, for good measure, Keith’s shirt as well—before returning his hands and his lips with greater fervor.

 

But the feeling of the breeze against his exposed back made Keith nearly shy.That, combined with the hot friction as Lance arched his hips up against Keith’s, gave way to the idea that maybe the hood of his car with french fries and slushees scattered around them was _not ideal_.

 

Lance bit at the soft junction between Keith’s neck and shoulder, and Keith swallowed a groan, pressing his lips tightly together.“M-maybe,” he began, voice shaky, as Lance swiped his tongue over the spot.“Maybe not here—?”

 

Lance hummed, and pulled back.He seemed to scan Keith’s face for discomfort, or fear, or anything else; then, not finding any, he relaxed.His eyes swept over the area once, then twice, and then he glanced over his shoulder.

 

He turned back, ever so slowly, grinning cheekily (the most _Lance_ expression Keith had ever seen, and had to resist rolling his eyes at it).

 

“You haven’t christened this car yet, have you?”

 

~~~~~

 

Lance sat up from where he lay in the back seat beside Keith at two minutes past six, wide eyes meeting the beginning of a new day.Hair disheveled, freckled skin glowing in the pinkish orange light of sunrise, he made Keith’s heart skip a beat.

 

“Well, would you look at that,” he breathed, awestruck.

 

Their little foray through the night, where everything was different and possible and Keith forgot the way things normally were, was done.It wasn’t the end for them, Keith knew.They still had maybe an hour’s drive home (during which he figured Lance would sleep, the lucky bastard), and then back to school come Monday, and then finals, and then graduation.Then a lazy summer, the last one before they really became adults and had bigger shoes to fill, full of hot, humid days and lounging around to enjoy the company.They still had their time.

 

And then?Well, four hours wasn’t so bad.

 

Lance turned to look down at Keith, cheeks stretched wide in a smile.He brushed the hair back from Keith’s forehead, fingers curving a gentle path back down his cheek—a lover’s caress, if Keith ever knew one.“Keith, you’ve gotta see this.”

 

Keith pushed himself up, and watched the new day greet their small town with a chin resting on Lance’s shoulder and Lance’s hand in his.

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this for fun but also i would sacrifice my first born child for comments and kudos and whatever other vanities this world can provide me :-)


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